Anyone with an online presence should know that monitoring it is key, whether they are a business owner, jobseeker or freelance worker. Regardless of what you do, an online reputation affects business deals, personal relationships, job hunts and more.

In an effort to spread awareness about the importance of online reputation management, the experts at Reputation Maxx or publishing the following tips on monitoring your online reputation:

1) Search from another standpoint

It is vital to check on your online reputation from the perspective of someone who would be searching you, whether it is a potential business partner, blind date or possible employer. Put yourself in their shoes and see what words and phrases they might use, then monitor those results.

2) Keep tabs on results

Regular checking the results and keeping track of what is where is another aspect of successfully monitoring your online reputation. Use a variety of search engines – Google, Yahoo! or Bing – and not how different search engines return different results. You can also set up alerts through Google that alert you whenever someone searches for a specific word or phrase.

3) Know where the threats are

Part of regularly checking search results is knowing where threats to your reputation are and keeping track of how they are moving. Take note that if something rises in the results, it is often because it received a boost in traffic – likely meaning someone searched for you and clicked on the negative result. When that happens, you know it is imperative to take action.

By following these tips from Reputation Maxx, you will be well on your way to having the ability to successfully monitor your online reputation.